Owen and George walked back to George's villa, and Owen's mind was spinning.
"How are we going to pull through tomorrow's event?" Owen asked. "Are you really expecting me to go there with your mate? What about mine?"
George was lost in his thoughts, and he tuned out Owen. Owen was a good warrior, but his go-to solutions to almost any problem were physical altercations. A typical werewolf.
While they were in the study, George knew that James was paying attention. And he hoped that James had some ideas on how to deal with this because George had none. Unfortunately, they played right into Alpha Edward's hands and now Dawn and Zina were stuck with going to the party to be exposed… in front of Alpha Edward and many other lecherous bastards.
The moment George realized that Alpha Edward got his way, George wanted to ask James for advice, but he couldn't risk Alpha Edward noticing they were communicating through the pack link. It would only bring James into this whole mess.
To make things worse, Beta Reymond suggested that Nora comes tomorrow to George's villa to help Dawn and Zina prepare for the event.
How will Dawn react when she finds out that she should come to James' birthday party as Owen's mate? George knew that the upcoming event will be stress-inducing, but he had no idea it will be this much!
Owen was nervous. Why was George silent? How was he supposed to go to a party with another man's mate and act lovey-dovey when his fiery Goddess will be right there!? If George said that the blonde was his mate, they wouldn't find themselves in this sticky web of lies.
"Why didn't you tell Alpha about Dawn?" Owen asked.
Dawn's name got George's attention. "Are you forgetting who Alpha Edward is?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you think I want to expose Dawn's existence and give him a chance to take her to bed?"
Owen's face fell. "He wouldn't…"
"He would! He already did it many times! Alpha Edward doesn't care if someone is mated or willing. He will use his position and take what he wants, and your options are to submit or to suffer the consequences of going against your Alpha!" George shoved a hand into his hair angrily. "Fuck! I will be damned if I let him put a finger on my mate!"
Owen pressed his lips into a line. His mood was dropping with every next step he took. George was visibly upset about this, but what hit Owen hard was that if someone like Commander George can't protect his mate, how will lowly Lieutenant Owen achieve that? Maybe he really didn't deserve a mate.
Owen remembered one thing. "Alpha Damon will be here tomorrow. We can talk to him and…"
"And what?" George interrupted him. "Are you expecting him to back you up and risk provoking Alpha Edward?"
"Are you saying that we are alone in this?"
"WE?" George snapped. "How bold of you to assume that we are in this together. For the last few years, every time I see you, you are either talking shit or trying to make me look bad. Do you think I will stick my neck out in order to help you?"
Owen extended his next two steps so that he can get in George's way and force him to stop walking.
"Listen, George… I fucked up. OK? I know I am at fault here. Tell me, how can we fix this? I mean, no matter how much you dislike me, the reality is that we need to collaborate because Alpha is expecting me to show up at that party tomorrow with YOUR mate by my side. Unless you are planning to challenge Alpha Edward's authority, you need to hide her. Are you going to send her to the Dark Howlers pack? Send me with her." And Zina as well. The females already told him that Alpha Damon is accepting newcomers.
George knew that Owen's point was valid, but he was not in the right state of mind to make reasonable decisions.
George stepped to the side and moved around Owen. "Let's talk about it later."
"Later? We don't have time," Owen protested while rushing to catch up with George.
"And I have no ideas," George admitted. "Unless you have something good, we will wait."
"Wait, for what?"
George didn't respond. What were they waiting for? A divine intervention?
Owen's face was arranged into a deep frown as he followed after George.
Owen was trying to come up with options, but he knew there were only two. Submit to Alpha Edward or run. Anything else would result in his death or going into the dungeon and Owen was not keen on any of those.
Was Owen ready to leave the Red Moon pack? If he wanted to stay with his mate, he needed to make that decision sooner than he thought. Can he uproot his life for a person he met only a few hours ago? They didn't even kiss! But she was his other half, and she was beautiful and kind and funny, and… Owen was unsure of what to do.
"George!"
A scream was heard the moment George opened the door of his villa and Dawn-bullet ran to him.
George's grumpiness melted away when the petite cinnamon-scented blonde hung on him like a koala.
George never imagined that a silly and loud female could make him feel at home, yet here was Dawn, clinging onto him and rubbing her face on the side of his neck, and he tightened his hold on her in a desire to merge with her completely and never separate.
Owen stared at the scene in front of him. Did he ever see George smile before? Owen didn't remember.
Dawn giggled as George planted kisses all over the place and Owen had difficulty looking away.
"Did Alpha Edward bully you?"
Owen whipped his head to see Zina approaching him. He wished that Zina jumped on him, just as Dawn did on George, but he knew that their relationship was not at that stage. He didn't mark her, claim her, kiss her, or… he didn't do anything. Will he ever be able to walk with Zina by his side and his chin raised proudly?
Zina put her hand on Owen's cheek, and he leaned into her spark-infused touch that had the power to dispel all his worries.
Owen stared into Zina's blue eyes that smiled at him and the world faded as he realized that her scent of chamomile was more distinct than before. When they met the first time, it was in the market that was filled with scents, and then his nose was filled with blood, and the kitchen had various spices, but now he was confident that he didn't imagine it. Zina smelled of chamomile.
Owen loved eating and drinking chamomile and he would always pluck a few flowers when available or have a few dried ones in his pocket. Can he put Zina in his pocket?
"Owen? … Owen?"
Zina's voice reached him, and he blinked into reality.
"Sorry, did you say something?"
"I asked, did Alpha Edward give you a hard time?"
Owen didn't want to lie, but he couldn't say anything that would make Zina worry.
What if Zina hears about trouble and says that he was not worth it, and she leaves? Or what if she likes the idea of going into Alpha Edward's grasp? His stomach cramped painfully at this last thought.
